Odisha BJD urged President to direct Centre to fix minimum support price of Rs 2,930 per quintal for paddy

Bhubaneswar: The BJD on Friday urged President Pranab Mukherjee to direct the Union Government to fix the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,930 per quintal for paddy within seven days in the interests of the farmers.

The ruling party submitted a memorandum, addressed to the President, before Governor Dr SC Jamir after staging a demonstration before the Raj Bhavan here under chairmanship of Biju Krushak Janata Dal State convenor Sushant Singh on the issue.

Nearly 90 per cent of the farmers belong to small and marginal category and they entirely depend on paddy cultivation for livelihood. As the MSP fixed by the Union Government is not commensurate with the cost of production, the farmers are deprived of getting a reasonable price for their produce,” the memorandum said.

It further informed that the State Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution to recommend the Centre to fix paddy MSP at Rs 2,930 in compliance with the BJP’s election manifesto promising to provide MSP of one and half times the cost of production.

Earlier, Ministers, MPs, MLAs and leaders belonging to the ruling party’s various wings participated in the demonstration.